The physical condition of adults in Canada has deteriorated significantly over the past few years and decades. Faced with this worrying situation, particularly the prevalence of obesity and overweight, and the diseases associated with them, Statistics Canada published a major study in 2010 that painted a bleak picture of the evolution of the physical condition of Canadians, who are a "burden, both economically and in terms of public health".
Improving public health and the health of Canadians is a complex challenge. To achieve it, we need to take into account the many factors - social, economic, environmental, behavioural - that influence health. But that shouldn't stop us from taking action. In fact, for Dr. David Butler Jones, Canada's Chief Public Health Officer, action must be taken quickly: "If we don't correct the situation, today's children could be the first in Canadian history to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.
Food quality is an area where action can be taken to achieve health gains for Canadians. Canadians recognize the influence of healthy eating on their health. More and more of them are orienting their consumption choices around foods they believe, rightly or wrongly, to be good for them. Consuming healthy food is a responsibility shared by the various players in the agri-food system and by consumers.
However, consumers are ill-equipped to make informed choices. While the Nutrition Facts table and the list of ingredients are the sources of information preferred by public health authorities, health claims of all kinds are omnipresent on the products we are offered.
In this research, we set out to find out how consumers make their choices and react to different types of health claims. To do this, we felt it was important to develop a picture of the marketing strategies used on processed food packaging to encourage consumers to choose one product over another. We then held focus groups to understand the impact of these strategies and claims on consumers, and to identify their information needs.
The food processing industry wants its products to stand out from the competition and be perceived as beneficial to the health of consumers and their families. We have listed no fewer than thirteen types of claim that are directly or indirectly related to health. The multiplicity and frequency of these claims certainly have an influence on consumer behavior.
In addition, we identified about half a dozen marketing strategies used for the same purpose. Our focus groups were held in three Canadian cities (Calgary, Toronto and Montreal) and comprised people with low levels of education, as well as members of the general public. Regardless of their years of education, Canadians are looking for products with nutritional benefits or that are healthy. They are influenced by marketing strategies, even if they are often aware that the information put forward is primarily intended to promote a product.
Our focus groups also confirmed that Canadians struggle to make sense of the nutritional information on product packaging. Some comments suggest real confusion about the Nutrition Facts table, and even an inability to use it properly. What's more, the Nutrition Facts table, while appreciated for the accuracy of the information it contains, is not perceived as an effective tool for comparing products in a purchasing context.
We urge consumers to be vigilant in the face of messages deliberately conveyed by the industry. The government should pursue its efforts to educate consumers about healthy eating, and develop communication and educational tools to demystify the various claims made about food and health. A number of measures are needed to help consumers make healthy choices.
Firstly, the Nutrition Facts table should be improved to make it easier to use. In addition, Option consommateurs recommends measures to make a section of the front-of-pack label uniform, so that consumers can obtain at a glance the information they need to compare products.
